Love Letter: a Manifesto of Sorts by Clifford Henderson (Plus a free book!)

Congratulations to Lynn! She won a copy of Rest Home Runaways by Clifford Henderson!

It’s a beautiful fall day here in the Northwest, made all the better by a virtual visit from my friend Cliffi.

If you’re not familiar with Clifford Henderson and her fabulous writing (this woman is seriously talented!), then you are in for a treat. She recently released a new book called Rest Home Runaways and you can check it out (and buy it) HERE!

Because she’s awesome, she’s also giving away a copy of Rest Home Runaways here at Women and Words! Woo! Please leave a comment below to enter the drawing. I’ll announce the winner on Friday, 9/26. Good Luck!

Love Letter: a Manifesto of Sorts
by Clifford Henderson

Dear Reader,

Yes, you.

How I dream of you sprawled on your comfy couch, the fire in your hearth blazing, your glass of wine/tea/coconut water at your side, a colorful crocheted blanket rumpled in your lap, your cat/dog/ferret snoring softly by your side, my latest novel opened, propped up on your knees, as much left to read as has been read. How you pause to take a sip of your desired drink to prolong the wondrous experience of reading, because you want the story to go on forever. How you think to yourself, this book is sooooo good, I’m going to write an Amazon review when I’m done, even though you know Amazon is Evil Incarnate, you justify yourself by knowing that you purchased the novel from the publisher/independent bookstore/alternative-groovy-bookselling-website; how you promise yourself you’re going to buy every other one of my novels, the whole backlist—shoot, buy them for your friends while you’re at it—because you are so moved by my words, and you know how hard it is for a lowly author to get noticed in this world, especially one that seems to straddle genres as I do, just like they did in the old days of publishing, before authors were expected to brand themselves like cows and then stick to their brand, before they were judged on their social media platform instead of their words, before they were forced to spend their nights searching the internet for possible (gasp!) piracy of their work, butinstead were encouraged to enter into that mystical place of creation, that place where the alchemy of disparate thoughts magically arranges itself into a tale rife with meaning and metaphor, a tale with the power to change the world, when an author’s work was considered sacred, their salesmen-like qualities not given a second thought.

Dear Reader, it is you who I strive to please, you who I work tirelessly for, you who makes me wake in the middle of the night with the perfect ending for my current project. And yet, you are, if the surveys are to be believed, a dying breed. You have been waylaid by the flashiness of stupid animal videos, something called Candy Land, and the ever tempting updates on your social media sites. And yet I am told—horror of horrors!—that even your attention span is lessening, that the fast pace of your life, the insipid sound bytes constantly barraging you are wearing even you, dear Reader, down.

But I refuse to believe these naysayers! You understand the power of story and are relentless in your defense of reading as an acceptable, no, superior pastime. You have books piled by your bedside waiting to be read, your e-reader is chock full of to-be-read novels as well; you collect bookmarks because they make you happy; spend Saturday nights at your local bookstore, lunch breaks in the hush of your local public library; and, best of all, you recommend books to your friends, even start a book group so you and your like-minded reader friends can discuss the works of your favorite authors. And you are not, as some believe, one trick ponies! You do not read only one kind of book, but, from time to time, challenge yourself to new reading delights.

And best of all, dear reader, (I am almost to shy to say this) you are a fan of my books, for which I am eternally grateful. To show my appreciation, I will continue to fill your bookshelves with novels, your imaginations with page-turning stories, and your minds with delicious sentences to mull over. I’m also doing a book give-away with this blog entry, so make your comments known. Declare your love for reading!

Your faithful servant,

Cliffi

***

Baffled by reality, Clifford Henderson has fashioned a life where she can spend most of her time in make believe. Author of three award-winning novels, The Middle of Somewhere, Spanking New, and Maye’s Request, her fourth, Rest Home Runaways just came out in August. When not writing, Clifford and her partner of twenty years run the Fun Institute, a school of improv and solo performance where they teach the art of collective pretending.

30 thoughts on “Love Letter: a Manifesto of Sorts by Clifford Henderson (Plus a free book!)”

Loved the blog. I see myself in so many of the descriptions. Thanks for continuing to write and helping to fill my imagination with your characters. If you happen to pull my name as the winner……I bought your book, so please select another name. Thanks and have a wonderful week.

Thanks for writing this delightful blog. You described me reading at night, except for the blazing hearth and the snoozing ferret. You also included me in that last photo except for her being younger, thinner, and having floor space for all those books. 😆 I think all of us have that dream.
I look forward to reading your newest novel.

Can’t wait to read your latest, I have heard so many good things about it. Would love an autographed print copy of it (wait, was that in the offer?), anyhow I would be grateful to participate in anyway in your giveaway. Keep writing, Cliffi, your readers can’t wait!

Ah ha…yes, I see what you were doing with the style of your blog…YOU WANT TO AWARD YOUR BOOK TO THE ONE WHO COULD CORRECTLY IDENTIFY YOUR POWERFUL MIND CONTROL SNEAK ATTACK!!! 🙂 I would therefore like to identify your hilarious persuasive technique as countless “subliminal messages” so yep, go ahead and just send your book my way 🙂 MUAH HAHAHA….. 🙂

I’ve been looking for retirement, to have more time to read… Alas! More time, but less money, prices of books, as well as shipping going up, and my top authors, I promised myself never to miss a book from, have been neglected. My bookwormishness is becoming a burden. Why could I not love instead for example cleaning, or gossiping, or soap operas… as people around me.

I love that you are a Czech of lesfic. My grandmother was Czech. I cannot imagine her even speaking the word lesfic! I understand the money thing. Hang in. And enjoy your free time. Do you have a good library? At least here, in the states, we can request books.

I got it the first time. Of course I wouldn’t even try to find English lesfic in our libraries, or even in bookshops. During last about ten years I’ve been buying English lesfic through Internet, I guess I bought several hundread books and passed a lot of them to some net-palls in other European countries. Just lately I limited buying to just a book or two a month.

I’ve read your three books and they had me laughing and crying and not wanting them to end. I also started running out of room and bought an e-reader, no postage costs. Now no matter where I go I have lots of books to read. I’m looking forward to reading your new book. I would read a lot more without Bubblewitch! Keep writing and I will keep reading. Thank you

I proudly call myself a bookworm & declare my love for reading. Love to curl up with a paperback in the evening or ALL day on my day off work. I have a stack of new books by the bed & I am running short of shelve space. I need to breakdown & get an e-reader because of space but I love to have an
actual book…
Please enter me in the drawing since I have a little room left on my ‘H’ shelf beside Maya’s Request.